12" chopsaw blade recommendation

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229
Location
Vernon, WI
Hey everyone, looking to buy a nice 12" chopsaw blade and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. My current blade is getting dull and very gummed up. Still usable but I have to build a fireplace mantel soon and I don't want to use it for that. From what I've heard, a -5 degree hook angle is a thing to look for when buying a chopsaw blade, so I guess I'd prefer that. Also something with some beef to it that will cut an 1/8" kerf. I'd like to get this blade resharpened a couple of times when necessary and I don't see that happening with a thing kerf blade. I'd like to keep it under $90 or so. I've heard many great things about the Forrest Chopmaster but right now I can't afford that blade :( But I am looking for something similar in performance. Something I will hang onto for a long time, not a throw away blade. Any help is much apppreciated, thanks everyone :)
 
There are a lot of good blades out there. One thing I go for on my miter saw is a full kerf blade. I have a Dewalt dual-bevel saw and had an issue with blade deflection with the thin-kerf that came with it. I got a reasonable price on a Dewalt 80-tooth Fine Crosscut saw that works great.
 
First off there is a difference between a chop saw and a miter saw. Any who, I like the frued 96 tooth blade for most things or the infinty 96? tooth blade. The infinity gets massive use cutting flooring all day and has held up great so far. The frued did not seem to cut as long before it started to chipout.
 
Westley...

Coastal Tool has the Forrest 12" Chopmaster for $119 plus shipping. I know this is over your limit. I don't have a chop saw, but for my cabinet saw I have two Forrest blades, two Ridge Carbide blades and an Infinity Tools blade. All billed as "premium" blades, and they are. They work well...all of them. And they are all full-kerf (1/8). It was painful to spring for the first one, but it was such a positive result that I stopped thinking about saving money on saw blades...other than to search for the best price at the moment for one of the premium blades that I like. In my opinion if you buy a premium blade you will never look back. Forrest has an excellent resharpening program. So maybe pack baloney sandwiches in your lunch for a couple weeks and you won't have to compromise.

The only full-kerf Freud blade I could find with a negative hook angle is the LU92M012 (-6 degrees), and it's billed as an "Industrial Thick-Stock Laminate" blade. Not sure what that has to do with the price of rice. It's $89 at Amazon, free shipping...didn't look elsewhere. Freud seems to favor the thin-kerf revolution.

Good luck with that.

Cheers.
 
First off there is a difference between a chop saw and a miter saw. Any who, I like the frued 96 tooth blade for most things or the infinty 96? tooth blade. The infinity gets massive use cutting flooring all day and has held up great so far. The frued did not seem to cut as long before it started to chipout.

Al, if the chop saw you are refering to is the metal cutting chop saw, yes I know that is called a chop saw and what I'm talking about is a miter saw. I'm just use to calling it a "chop saw" because that's the word that's tossed around at work ;) Sometimes I even call it a miter box, even though it's a powered saw and not a handtool miter box. Sorry for any confusion :) Infinity blades? Hmmmm don't know that I've seen those before. But if they hold up to flooring well, I will check those out as well because I have a flooring job coming up. And whatever is in that laminated flooring sure eats up your blade.

Westley...

Coastal Tool has the Forrest 12" Chopmaster for $119 plus shipping. I know this is over your limit. I don't have a chop saw, but for my cabinet saw I have two Forrest blades, two Ridge Carbide blades and an Infinity Tools blade. All billed as "premium" blades, and they are. They work well...all of them. And they are all full-kerf (1/8). It was painful to spring for the first one, but it was such a positive result that I stopped thinking about saving money on saw blades...other than to search for the best price at the moment for one of the premium blades that I like. In my opinion if you buy a premium blade you will never look back. Forrest has an excellent resharpening program. So maybe pack baloney sandwiches in your lunch for a couple weeks and you won't have to compromise.

The only full-kerf Freud blade I could find with a negative hook angle is the LU92M012 (-6 degrees), and it's billed as an "Industrial Thick-Stock Laminate" blade. Not sure what that has to do with the price of rice. It's $89 at Amazon, free shipping...didn't look elsewhere. Freud seems to favor the thin-kerf revolution.

Good luck with that.

Cheers.

Ed thanks for all of your advice. I think the Chopmaster may be next on my list. But for now I just couldn't do it :( I will also check into their resharpening program and keep it in mind. I agree with Freud favoring the thin-kerfs, that's all I've seen by them too. And many others, it's getting kind of annoying. I ended up getting a DeWalt blade I found at Farm n Fleet. Don't have it nearby to check the model number, but it is a full kerf blade 96 tooth for $70. Time will tell how it holds up.
 
I ended up getting a DeWalt blade I found at Farm n Fleet. Don't have it nearby to check the model number, but it is a full kerf blade 96 tooth for $70. Time will tell how it holds up.

Westley, Good Choice. I use the 12 inch DeWalt 80 tooth blade (DW3128) in mine. It's a good blade for the money and I've been very pleased with them. Amazingly smooth cut. I've also used the DeWalt 30 tooth for Heavy work ( 2x pressure treated). I buy 'em at the blue box when they are on sale. They hold up well.
Tony
 
... I have a flooring job coming up. And whatever is in that laminated flooring sure eats up your blade.

Laminate flooring is very abrasive and will wear blades quickly in a plunge cut. This is the reason that the flooring manufacturers recommend cutting with a table saw, hand held saw or sliding miter saw. If your saw is not a slider you will want to use a different tool. And if it's not a slider, negative hook angle is not necessary. The best Freud blade would be the LU85R012:
lu85-main.jpg
 
Laminate flooring is very abrasive and will wear blades quickly in a plunge cut. This is the reason that the flooring manufacturers recommend cutting with a table saw, hand held saw or sliding miter saw. If your saw is not a slider you will want to use a different tool. And if it's not a slider, negative hook angle is not necessary. The best Freud blade would be the LU85R012:
lu85-main.jpg



I have this blade and I use it all the time. It is a great blade. I haven't found any blade that cuts any better than this one.
 
Wes,
This was a very interesting post.. I learned a lot about saw blades here... I have a Delta compound miter saw.. no slide but wish I had the slide... I'm still on the original blade after about 18 months, but don't cut much except little things on it... pen blanks, pepper mill blanks, narrow boards to make peppermill blanks etc.... I was think a while back I might be needing a new blade in the future, so I'll file this thread for future reference.
 
You don't need a negative hook for a regular miter saw, though it's recommended for sliders, and is best if you dont' go with overly steep hook like 20°...anything 10° or less should be fine for you miter saw.

The best bang for the buck I can find in a 12" full kerf blade is on Ebay (not mine)...DeWalt DW7649 80T, full kerf, ATB grind, large C4 micrograin carbide, made in Great Britain (NOS). "Buy it Now" for $60, or "Make an Offer". This whole series has morphed into the Delta industrial line, but I've found some great bargains from this series, and have always been impressed with the several I've tried. :thumb:

The Infinity blades I've used have all been top notch, as have the Freud Industrial blades, though I don't spin 12" blades. My experience with Forrest have also been great, but they're expensive and not necessarily superior to the others mentioned.
 
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